CHICAGO — More than 70 prospects gathered in one building this week in Chicago, falling under the microscope of all 30 NBA teams.
Michigan had what we’ll call 2.5 players participating: Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin, both of whom played for the Wolverines last season, and Yaxel Lendeborg, committed to the program as a transfer from UAB last month but may keep his name in the draft.
Michigan head coach Dusty May was on hand to support his players. At one point he joked with Lendeborg about not playing too well. In reality, Lendeborg couldn’t hide his talents, just like other prospects couldn’t hide their flaws.
At the NBA draft combine, nothing is a secret.
### **No stone unturned**
At the NBA draft combine, prospects are measured, tested in various speed and agility drills, and interviewed.
“It’s tough, but this is what you sign up for,” Michigan State’s Jase Richardson said. “They’re doing a million-dollar investment in you, so they’ve got to make sure that everything’s right.”
Wolf learned, if he hadn’t already, that the evaluations started long before this week in Chicago. “They always tell you from a young age you’ve gotta work out like somebody’s watching you,” he said. “You’ll be in meetings (at the combine) and they’ll talk about past occurrences that not a lot of people know about or little small details or things that have happened in the last year.”
During Wednesday’s scrimmages, I heard one scout tell another that his team was staying away from a certain prospect because his girlfriend’s mom didn’t like him. The fact that the team learned (and verified) that information tells you everything you need to know about the draft evaluation process.
### **Lendeborg’s decision**
Many prospects are looking for any reason to stay in the NBA draft. Yaxel Lendeborg appears to be looking for a reason _not_ to. The 6-foot-9 forward who transferred from UAB to Michigan would really like to play for the Wolverines. He could become an easily forgotten footnote in the program’s history, though, if he keeps his name in the draft.
“My ultimate goal would be to try to crack the top 20,” Lendeborg said on Wednesday. “Hopefully I can get that. If not, then it’ll be a little easier to make my decision.”
Among the dozen or so scouts and other NBA personnel MLive spoke with this week about Lendeborg, none had a firm idea of what he would do. To a man, they like his potential and believe he could be a first-round pick, potentially in the top 20. He’s still relatively new to the sport and doesn’t seem to realize how good he is.
ESPN called him “the biggest name to monitor over the next two weeks.” Lendeborg plans to use all his allotted time, through May 28, to make up his mind.
Financially, Michigan can compete with a late first-round contract. If a team drafting in the top 20 promises it will take Lendeborg, it’s very unlikely he’ll ever suit up for the Wolverines.
### **Michigan scheduling notes**
Last season, Michigan divided its nonconference schedule with six games against high-major teams and five against lesser competition. Expect a similar split next season.
Michigan will host Wake Forest in Detroit (reportedly on Nov. 11), visit TCU in November, play three games in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas around Thanksgiving, and face Duke in Washington, D.C. In a [one-on-one interview with MLive](https://www.mlive.com/wolverines/2025/05/dusty-may-on-michigans-highly-rated-transfers-and-if-hes-done-building-roster.html), May also confirmed that Michigan will play St. John’s in an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden.
May said Michigan will have at least four “buy” games in which Michigan pays a lesser opponent to visit Crisler Center. “We’ll do four and then have some wiggle room,” he said. “We could very easily add one more marquee game. We’re discussing it with several teams.”
Coordinating dates isn’t easy, especially given the Vegas trip and two early-December Big Ten games.
While the TCU series is a true home-and-home and the Wake Forest matchups are close to campus, those sorts of arrangements are being phased out in place of neutral-site games that can double as fundraisers.
“We’re coming in all directions to raise as much money as we can to compensate our guys the way they should (be compensated),” May said. “They do a lot for Michigan.”